Device for drying, compacting, gauging, and polishing pipes and casings of fibro-cement and similar material



2,113,096 DEVICE FOR DRYING, COMPACTING, GAUGING, AND POLISHING PIPESApril 5, 1938. E. ROCCA AND CASINGS OF FIBRO-CEMENT AND SIMILAR MATERIALFiled Oct. 1957 8, 3 Sheets-Sheet l actor:

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DEVICE FOR DRYING, GOMFACTING, GAUGING, AND POLISHING PIPES AND CASINGSOF FIBRO-CEMENT AND SIMILAR MATERIAL Filed Oct. 8, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2ENRlco R0 GOA April 5, 1938. 2,113,096

i ed Oct. 8,

E. ROCCA DEVICE FOR DRYING, COMPACTING, GAUGING, AND POLISHING PIPES ANDCASINGS OF F RO-CEMENT AND SIMILAR MATERIAL 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i\--7,Iwent'vr; Z 5 xx ENRICO RoccA J 'ltented Apr. 5, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE RIAL Application October 8,

Enrico Rocca, Dalmine, Italy 1937, Serial No. 168,068

In Italy November 29, 1933 4 Claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application,Serial No. 753,070,

filed November 14, 1934,

The present invention relates to the finishing of tubularasbestos-cement products.

It is already known that products of asbestoscement (pipes, casings andsimilar articles) can be made very compact and waterproof by means 'ofhigh compression, while still in the paste-like state, and that thecompactness and waterproof property are highly important factors of thetechnological qualities of said pipes. The application of such highcompression on the pastelike products is a very delicate operation andup to the present time no perfect-pressing method of possible industrialapplication had yet been found.

An object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus forsimultaneously compressing and polishing asbestos-cement pipes of anydiameter.

Another object of this invention is to provide a group of rollers,comprising a pressing and polishing roller, and two carrying orcentering rollers, means for rotating the rollers, and means to pressthe rollers against the pipe to be pressed.

With these and other important objects-in view, which may be incident tomy improvements, the invention resides in the parts and combinations tobe hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that theseveral necessary elements comprising my invention may be varied inconstruction, proportions and ar-- rangement, without departing from thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

The present invention deals with a process and apparatus forsimultaneously compressing and polishing asbestos-cement'pipes of anydiameter. During this compression, the separation of the manufacturedpipe from the metal tube, which has been employed as a core, is alsoobtained.

According to the present invention, means are provided, including atleast one group of rollers, for receiving an asbestos-cement pipe, madeon any type of machine, and imparting rotary and axial feeding motionsthereto. Each group of rollers comprises a pressing and polishing rollerand two carrying or centering rollers. Each roller is mounted in a forkfor rotary movement about its axis and the fork of each roller ispivotally mounted to its support. The carrying or centering rollers areinclined in a direction opposite that of the pressing roller so as to.allow axial feeding of the pipe.

The pressing and polishing roller is thrust forward against the pipe tobe pressed by hydraulic means, which offers a wide range of adjustment.

It is also contemplated to separately adjust each roller group, so that,for instance, a low pressure in the first roller group increases bydegrees in 5 the successive groups (2nd, 3rd, etc.) and reaches itshighest value in the last group.

Thus, it is possible to force the surplus water gradually from theasbestos-cement pipe which slowly acquires a higher degree ofcompactness.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end view, partly in section, of an apparatus embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus,'illustrating threesets of rollers.

- Fig. 3 is a detailed plan view of one of the rollers.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of .a single group of rollers,illustrating the inclination imparted to the rollers.

Fig. 5 is an axial sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 6,illustrating a power driven roller according to the present invention.

Figs. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-4 of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 'I-|- of Fig. 5.

In the device, according to the invention as shown in the annexeddrawings, the asbestoscement pipe I resting on the metal spindle 2 issubjected to the action of rollers 3 which compress and polish it, whilethe counterpressing supporting rollers 4 and 5 keep it centered. Waterpressed from the pipe I is collected-in trough 52 and is dischargedthrough drain 53.

Each roller 3 is mounted 'for rotation about its axis in a fork 6 whichis pivotally mounted in the clevis I for movement about a pin 8. ClevisI is carried by a support 8 which, as shown in Fig. 1, is mounted foraxial reciprocating moye- *ment in a guide bearing III which, in turn,is supported by the machine frame ll The pivotal mounting of forks G inclevises l insures perfect contact and uniform pressure of the rollerson the surface of pipe I.

Rollers l and 5 are each mounted similarly to rollers 3 in a fork l2which is pivotally carried by a clevis I! for pivotal movement about apin ll. Each clevis I3 is carried by a. support I! mounted on themachine frame. The rollers l and 5 of each group are adapted to movesimultaneously toward and away from the pipe I and for this purpose thesupports II are pivoted by pins I8 and I6 adjacent the clevises II tothe .ends of substantially T-shaped quadrant levers u 23' and T-shapedquadrant levers I1 and H are such that the rollers 4 and 5 will move insubstantially straight lines.

Links 22 and 22' connect the free ends of T- shaped quadrant levers l1and I1 to a yoke 23 having a supporting stem 24 slidably mounted in asocket 25 in the machine frame.

A hydraulic press 25, comprising a cylinder 21 fed through avalve-controlled conduit 23 and a piston 29, serves for pressing rollers3 against the pipe I. For this purpose the piston rod 33 is connected toone end of .a bell-crank 3i, the other end being connected to support 3.

A similar hydraulic press 25' has its piston rod 33' connected to oneend of bell-crank 3|, the other end of which is connected by link 32 toyoke 23 for pressing rollers 4 and 5 against pipe I.

To maintain simultaneous action between all rollers of a group,bell-cranks 3| and 31 are connected by a linkage including resilientlinks 33 and 33, bell-cranks 34 and 35, and link 35.

With the above-described structure, the synchronous action of thepressure of the three rollers in a radial direction is always assured,regardless of the diameter of the pipe i.

In Fig. 4, the inclination that the rollers 3 and counterpressingrollers 4 and 5 take while working may be clearly seen; this inclinationproduces the helical feeding motion of the pipe.

The drive of the pressing roller can be effected in'various manners, andit is possible that all of the groups may be power driven or only one ofthe groups. If the machine has only a small number of rollers, then allmay be power driven to prevent great tangential forces which could breakthe' tube. Ifa large number of groups of rollers is provided, only thefirst and the last groups, or only the first group alone, will be powerdriven. In every case, the rollers can be made in the manner representedin Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

As shown, the rollers 3 are divided-into two parts: the internal 31,which is fixed and has an elliptical section, and the external 33, whichis rotatable and has a circular section. A plurality member 31 and thecylindrical roller 33 and by engaging the vanes causes the cylindricalshell 33 to rotate in the direction of the arrow (Figs. 6 and '7 Thefluid is exhausted from spaces 41 and 43 into the exhaust compartmentthrough ports 43 and 53 and thence through the outlet 5|. The operationof sliding vane motors of this type is well known and discussion of thetheory thereof is not believed necessary.

The free ends of While the preferred embodiment of the invention hasbeen shown and described, it is to be understood that I do not confinemyself to the precise details herein set forth by way of illustration,as it is apparent that many changes and variations may be made thereinby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. An apparatus for drying, compacting, gauging and polishingflbro-cement pipes and similar bodies, comprising at least one group ofrollers, said group consisting of a pressing roller having a specularsurface, means for pressing said roller in a radial direction againstthe surface of the pipe, a pair of counterpressing rollerscircumferentially spaced around the pipe for supporting the pipe againstthe pressing roller, and means for effecting an axial displacement ofthe pipe upon rotation thereof.

2. An apparatus for drying, compacting, gauging and polishingfibre-cement pipes and similar bodies, comprising a plurality of Igroups of rollers axially spaced along the length of the pipe, each ofsaid axially spaced groups consisting of a pressing roller having aspecular surface, means for pressing said roller in a radial directionagainst the surface of the pipe, a pair of counterpressing rollerscircumferentially spaced around the pipe for supporting the pipe againstthe pressing roller, and means for effecting an axial displacement ofthe pipe upon rotation thereof, the pressure exerted on the pipe by therollers increasing progressively in each succeeding group.

3. An apparatus for drying, compacting, gauging and polishingfibro-cement pipes and similar bodies, comprising at least one group ofrollers, said group consisting of a pressing roller having a specularsurface, means for pressing said roller in a radial direction againstthe surface of the pipe, a pair of counterpressing rollerscircumferentially spaced around the pipe for supporting the pipe againstthe pressing roller, means for effecting an axial displacement of thepipe upon rotation thereof, and stationary means associated with saidgroup of rollers to collect and carry ofif water from the pipe.

4. An apparatus for drying, compacting, gauging and polishingfibro-cement pipes and similar bodies, comprising a plurality of groupsof rollers axially spaced along the length of the pipe, each of saidaxially spaced groups consisting of a pressing roller having a specularsurface, means for pressing said roller in a radial direction againstthe surface of the pipe, a pair of counterpressing rollerscircumferentially spaced around the pipe for supporting the pipe againstthe pressing roller, means for effecting an axial displacement of thepipe upon rotation thereof, the pressure exerted on the pipe by therollers increasing progressively along the length of the pipe, andstationary means associated with said group of rollers to collect andcarry off water from the pipe.

' ENRICO ROCCA.

